Tiranga Bread : Independence day special

Hello everyone, wish you all a very Happy Independence day. Being a kid 15th August has always been the most awaited days of my school life because of the candies and sweets which I used to get from my teachers.

However as I grew up, I understand the true meaning and importance of this day and the reason behind why its considered to be a Red Letter Day in the Indian history. This post is my sincere tribute to all the people who contributed in giving us this Nation as a free space to live.

Further to this, an Independence day event was organized by one of my very good friends Ms. Chitra Haldia @ Chef At Large. It was a wonderful event, people participated with full enthusiasm and patriotism. Tiranga bread is my contribution to that event and was very well appreciated there. I am sharing this recipe with you all too.

Ingredients :

• All purpose flour/Maida : 3 cups and 2 tbsps to dust
• Dry Active Yeast : 2 and 1/4 tsps or 8 gms
• Salt : 1/2 tsp
• Sugar : 2 tbsps
• Butter : 2 tbsps
• Luke warm water : 1 and 1/4 cup
• Food colours : Saffron and Green
• Oil : to grease the pan and brush the loaf

Method :

Activate the yeast :

• In a bowl take luke warm water. To this add yeast and sugar,  mix well, cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes or unless yeast becomes foamy or frothy.
• If you are using Instant yeast, then skip this step and add yeast, sugar and salt directly to the flour and knead with luke warm water. 

Make the dough :

• Once yeast activated, take All purpose flour, add salt , mix well, add yeast mixture and butter. Try to knead a sticky dough.
• Take dough on to the working surface and divide it into three equal parts. Mix few drops of saffron colour on the first part and knead for 10 minutes or unless you get a smooth dough with uniform colour. Once done keep it in a well greased bowl, apply some oil on the top and cover it loosely with cling film or a wet towel. Keep it in some warm place and wait till it doubles in size. It might take 1-2 hours depending on the weather. 
• Similarly repeat the process with the next two parts. Just apply green colour on the one and no colour on the third part. You might need some dry flour and butter to make it smooth. But don't add a lot of dry flour or it will become dense.
• Once doubled, punch them a little to remove the excess air and try to form 3 flat rectangles (as per the size of your bread tin), from all the three parts. You can use a rolling pin if you want, i did it with my fingers.
• Apply some water on the top of green part and some water on the base of white part, stick them together and lightly pat them so that they stick to each other nicely.
• Repeat the process with white and saffron. 
• In this way you will get a stack of three colours. Put this into a well greased bread tin, also brush it with some oil.
• Cover it loosely with kitchen towel and let it rise again until doubled in size.
• Once done, put it in a preheated oven at 190° Celsius for 30 minutes. 
• To check whether the bread is done or not, just tap on the top of your bread and you will hear hollow sound, this is the indication that you bread is done. 
• Keep the tin on cooling rack and after 5 minutes demold the bread.
• Let it completely cool for and then slice it. After slicing you will see all the three colours.

Enjoy!  

Note :
You can make this bread with any colour of your choice like Rainbow bread or Omber bread.
Stick the three layers nicely and don't leave them loose.
Let the bread completely cool before slicing otherwise you won't get clean slices.

Please do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks and Enjoy Baking!
Priyanka

Cheese Buns/Stuffed Buns (Eggless)

Hello everyone, today I have got for you all a very yummy recipe of Stuffed buns. I used to have them during my school time, stuffed with masala potaotes. So just thought to prepare them with Paneer and cheese filling. The result was just awesome. This is a great snack, either with tea or coffee, we had it with freshly squeezed orange juice and is a huge hit in my house.

Preparing them is a bit lengthy process but at the same time they are very easy to prepare. The best part is that you can stuff them up with any filling you like be it Vegetarian or non vegetarian or may be the left overs. They have a very nice crust and very soft inside. You can make them in large numbers in advance or freeze them, microwave them for 15 secs and they will be fresh again. They are an awesome idea for pot lucks too :))))

So without wasting much of the time lets dive into the ingredients following the method.

Video Link :

 

Ingredients :

For the dough :

• All purpose flour : 2 cups
• Dried active Yeast : 1 tbsp (If using instant yeast then take 2+1/4 tsps)
• Sugar 1 tbsp
• Luke warm water : 1/2 +1/2 cup
• Butter : 1+1/2 tbsps  (melted)

For the stuffing :

• Onion : 1 small finely chopped
• Red Bell pepper : 1/2 finely chopped
• Green Bell pepper : 1/2 finely chopped
• Garlic : 2-3 cloves finely chopped
• Paneer/cottage cheese : 1cup finelydiced
• Cheese (any) : 1 cup (You can adjust the quantity)
• Oregano : 1 tsp
• Chilli flakes : 1 tsp
• Salt : As per the taste (add a little less as cheese also contains salt)
• Oil : 1-2 tbsps

Method :

Activate the yeast :

• In a bowl take 1/2 cup of luke warm water. To this add yeast and sugar,  mix well, cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes or unless yeast becomes foamy or frothy.
• If you are using Instant yeast, then skip this step and add yeast and sugar directly to the flour and knead with warm water.

Make the dough :

• Once yeast activated, take All purpose flour, add salt, mix well, add yeast mixture and try to knead a dough.
• Also add the rest half of the luke warm water, little by little and knead a very sticky dough. Half way through add 1 tbsp melted butter and knead.
• As shown in the video, take the dough on to the working surface and knead atleast for 10-12 minutes. This will activate some gluten in the dough, which helps to make the buns light and soft. You might need some dry flour and butter to make it smooth. But don't add a lot of dry flour or it will become dense.
• Once done with the kneading, place it in a well greased bowl and apply some oil on the top as well. Cover it and keep it in some warm place so that it rises well. I kept it in my oven, switching on only light and not the oven. It takes 45 minutes to 1 hour or sometimes more than that, as per the whether.

Make the stuffing :

• In a pan, take some oil, to this add garlic and saute, then add onions and again saute unless they are golden, then add bell peppers and saute for 1-2 minutes. Now add the paneer, also add the chilli flakes, oregano and salt. Mix well and cook fora minute more. Keep aside to cool.
• Once cooled, add the cheese and mix.

Second proofing of the dough :

• Once doubled, take out the dough on the work surface, deflate it and roll it to a rectangular blog of same thickness, with the help of your palms.
• Cut the dough into six equal parts.
• Take each part and form a ball, as shown in the video.
• Keep these balls with some distance, apply some oil, cover and let them rise again. This will again take 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Stuffing the buns :

• Once balls are doubled in size, stuff them with the filling and close them. Try to pinch them nicely so that they don't open while baking.
• Keep all the stuffed balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper/butter paper or aluminum foil. 
• Cover them and rest them again for 15-20 minutes. 
• In the mean while preheat the oven at 220° Celsius.

Baking the buns :

• Once rested, apply some milk with brush, for nice shine and bake them for 20-25 minutes.
• Also keep an oven proof dish filled with a cup of boiling water in the lower rack to create steam. This helps in forming nice crust.
• Mine were exactly for 22 minutes.
• After taking them out, put them on a cooling rack and apply some butter.
  Let them cool a bit.

Enjoy!!!!

Note :

• Yeast is a main hero of the recipe so if it doesn't froth nicely, throw away the mixture, check the yeast expiry date and start with fresh.
• Never skip the dough kneading part, this makes the bun softer.
• You can always play with filling part, as per you taste preferences.
• Proof them twice, as told in the recipe.
• You can also apply some egg wash instead of milk. 

Please do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking

Priyanka

Vermicelli upma/Vegetable Semiya

I am an egg lover and try to have them daily in my breakfast menu but we eat total veg on Mondays & Tuesdays, hence try to prepare some special breakfast for these days, so that it can compensate those missing eggs. Vermicelli upma or Namkeen semaiya is always a yes in my home. It is a very traditional South Indian breakfast too and made with lots many varieties.  It requires very little effort and tastes delicious. And best of all, my family loves it. I love its texture and have it with lots of veggies and lime juice. Sometimes with coconut or tomato chutney. I still remember those lazy weekends at my mom's place, when everyone used to sit together and had this in breakfast. So lets see the ingredients following the method.

Ingredients :

• Vermicelli/Semiya : 2 cups (I used Bombino)
• Onions : 1 large (finely sliced)
• Green Chillies : 1-2 slit (or as per the taste)
• Carrots : 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
• Peas : 1/2 cup (Frozen/fresh)
• Potato : 1 medium (Finely chopped)
• Tomatoes : 2 medium (optional)
• Chili powder : 1 tsp (optional)
• Mustard seeds : 1 tsp
• A Sprig of curry leaves
• Peanuts : 1/4 cup
• Oil : 2 tbsps
• Salt : As per the taste 
• Lime juice : 2 tbsps (or as per the taste)

Method :

• Dry roast the vermicelli in a pan on low flame. Stir continuously till you get the aroma and a very light golden color. If you are using already roasted ones, then you can skip this step. 
• If adding peanuts, roast them and keep aside. I usually dry roast my peanuts in microwave for 4-5 minutes (depends on the quantity). You can also fry them in oil.
• Heat 8 cups of water in a big pan, add some salt. As soon as the boil comes add roasted vermicelli to it and switch off the gas. Keep an eye, as soon they are done (you can check by braking them with fingers) strain them in a sieve.
• Simultaneously, heat oil and add mustard seeds, let them splatter, then add curry leaves and green chillies.
  Now add onions and saute a bit, then add carrots & potato, saute, cover it with a lid and let it cook. If you are using fresh peas add with carrots only as frozen ones can be added later with tomatoes.
• Add finely chopped tomatoes, chili powder, salt and cook. Once tomatoes are little soften, add strained vermicelli and mix. Add lime juice, peanuts and serve hot.

Notes:

• Try to boil the vermicelli and fry the veggies simultaneously, as after boiling and keeping the vermicelli for long makes them a bit sticky. If there is a situation where you need to keep them for long, then spread them on a tray and apply some oil gently. 
• Adding tomatoes and red chili powder is optional, but I like the taste hence add them.
• You can add as many veggies you like and also adjust their quantities as per you likings.

Please do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy cooking
Priyanka :)